Misunderstanding
by Lucifer Rosemaunt
Summary: Bruce/Dick one-sided slash. Dick makes some assumptions about why Bruce decided to let him live at Wayne Manor. Based off Batman Forever. One-shot.


Fandom: Batman  
Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own *insert fandom name from above*... All I own is an overactive imagination.  
Summary: Bruce/Dick one-sided. Dick makes some assumptions about why Bruce decided to let him live at Wayne Manor. Based off Batman Forever.  
Warning(s): slash  
Pairing(s): Bruce/Dick  
Word Count: 1,671

A/N: Day 07b of "22 new fandoms in 22 days." I didn't edit this much due to time constraints, so I apologize for any mistakes. I edited only once through. . That's usually never enough.  
Story note: Based off of the Batman Forever movie, yup, the one with Val Kilmer. Not the comics because there'd be too much to catch up on before I'd be able to write a good fic. Movies muchly condense storylines, and I wanted a before they got to know each other sort of fic.

What I didn't get from the movie was why social services was going to be a problem if he's a college student, which usu. means he should be 18 or older, right? Or he could be 17, I guess.

o.o.o.o

Misunderstanding  
By: Lucifer Rosemaunt

o.o.o.o

As Dick sat on the balustrade of the backyard veranda looking out into the open lawn, he wondered what the hell he was doing here. Well, at least what he was _still _doing here. He could have left after having eaten and getting a good night's rest. He could've left any time after that as well.

He'd even had a plan after his parents and his brother had been killed. It had been rather clear cut, too. Find Two-Face and kill him. Finding him wouldn't have been too difficult. It would have all been a matter of timing. It wasn't as though the villain kept a low profile when he was committing crimes in order to get Batman's attention. After finding him, killing him might have provided some difficulty, but since he'd been given the right incentive, revenge, Dick was certain he would have found a way.

Instead, he'd been at Wayne Manor for what felt like a lifetime, sitting on his hands. He'd even had to apply to Gotham College. Dick Grayson, college student? He wasn't sure what he thought about that. The circus had always been his life. He didn't see how he could possibly just give all of that up.

Then again, he didn't know why he was staying, why he'd stayed in the first place. Food and shelter had been tempting. He could admit only to himself that having an adult around to make sure everything was fine had also been too good to pass up. The security of a home and a man who had enough money that he'd never have to worry about his future for the rest of his life had probably also been a large part of why he'd stayed.

So, even though it was better than he'd possibly be offered anywhere else, he expected the worse. He wasn't stupid, naïve, or as young as Bruce thought. He really couldn't be expected to believe something good was going to happen right after his family had been killed. He stopped believing in good things, in luck, in justice. No one ever did anything for free. No one ever extended kindness without there being a catch to it, and he had been waiting for what the catch was here.

He knew all about Bruce Wayne, had heard about him from the others in the circus. Not only was he filthy rich, but he also had all the women of Gotham swooning over him. He could have anyone he wanted, but he never settled for a single person. In fact, the man never lasted long with any of them, barely showed interest actually. Dick, perhaps a little jaded after everything that had happened, had come to the conclusion that what other reason would a multi-millionaire or billionaire or whatever want with a kid as a charge other than sexual favours. After all, if Bruce Wayne was so generous, then surely, he would have had some other lonely orphan kids at his place. Gotham had to be full of them. But no, it was just him, a stranger not from Gotham that he'd only met a few days ago and with absolutely no known family.

It was obvious that the man had a secret anyway. That fake smile didn't do much to hide the calculating gaze. But, for his future, Dick had resigned himself to his fate.

At first, he made a conscious effort at avoiding Bruce whenever he could. There was no point in rushing the inevitable. However, it had only taken a few days before he realized that the master of the manor was more often than not missing from the house. During the day, it was because of Wayne Industries. In the evenings, it was because of social functions. And at night, well, Dick never actually saw Bruce very much at night, not even to go into his room. He couldn't even be sure that Bruce used his bedroom.

So, he just waited and waited for the day or night to come, and it never did.

There were no forced dinners together, and no orders other than for him to attend school. All in all, he'd spoken about only a handful of words to the man after his initial decision to stay. It was making him edgy. He began to wonder if he'd been mistaken about his opinion of Bruce, but was reluctant to even admit such a thing. As long as he believed Bruce wanted him for something, even if that something was sex, then at least, he'd know what was expected of him. It made sense why he was there in the manor, why he was still alive. Without it, he wasn't sure he knew how to move on with his life.

He didn't know how much longer he was going to have to wait, and it bothered him enough so that it was only this that usually plagued his mind. When was Bruce going to approach him, when was he going to demand they do this?

It had been two weeks after his family's death when he realized it wasn't their deaths or vengeance that constantly filled his mind. Yes, they were still there. It still hurt to think of his parents and his brother. Hurt wasn't a strong enough word for it. It was a mixture of pain, disbelief, and sorrow, but mostly he was just unsettled. He knew he'd never truly be able to move on until he killed Two-Face, but that initial belief that he'd be able to kill the man just given the opportunity had faded from his mind. The man had goons, and they had guns. He really had nothing other than a few acrobatic tricks and unofficial training in martial arts. He'd have to bide his time and figure out a real plan. But because of that pain, because of the inability to do anything just yet, he didn't think about it so much. He only thought of Bruce.

The man _was _handsome, definitely better looking than some of the other men who'd ever hit on him in his lifetime – who were impossible not to get when he swung around on a rope in nothing more than tights. Dick didn't really have a preference, but if he did, he was certain Bruce Wayne would definitely make the cut. He'd had enough dreams about the man's technique that he was almost ashamed of it. He was also certain the accident he'd staged by spilling juice in his bed hadn't been the greatest cover to clean his sheets, but Alfred hadn't said anything, only showed him where the clean linens were when he demanded that he be the one to change them.

It wasn't his fault though. He was only a teenager and Bruce was… well, those dreams were vivid, so much so that when he woke up he could still feel the warmth of the fingertips that traced his jaw or the almost pain of the man's hands gripping his hips tightly and the heavy weight lying on top of him.

Dick sighed, trying to shake those particular thoughts from his head. So what if Bruce was muscled and strong or that he'd seen the news footage of what had happened at the circus, how Bruce had fought Two-Face's goons in an effort to get to him. If he didn't know better, he'd think that he _wanted_ Bruce to show interest in him.

Of course, he didn't want that. In fact, after finding out that his theory about his presence in the manor had been proven wrong just a few minutes ago, he was ecstatic. That fear of not knowing how to move on with his life had been nothing. He didn't need a reason to be in Wayne Manor, a reason to be wanted. He'd just finally caught a break.

That Chase Meridian seemed like a very nice woman, too. She definitely had Bruce's attention; that was for certain.

"Dick?"

Dick immediately turned at the familiar voice, his body twisting to the side just to see him. "Uh, hey, Bruce. What's up?" Trying to peek past Bruce, he didn't see anyone following. "Turning in for the night?"

Bruce's eyes narrowed, but only continued to stare at him for a few moments. Dick wondered what exactly he was seeing in his expression, if he was giving anything away.

"Is everything alright?" The words seemed difficult for Bruce to say. Dick figured he wasn't used to showing concern for someone else. "You left before dessert."

Putting on his best grin, Dick shrugged, "You know Al supplies me on the side." He added a laugh that sounded forced and might have been a little too much, but he just continued, "I'm not good at being a third wheel, Bruce."

Bruce didn't laugh with him, only smirked a bit. Dick could easily tell that he was still not satisfied with his response, but Dick really couldn't give him anything else. He was tired of pretending to be happy, tired of waiting for no reason, tired of not being wanted.

Bruce reached forward to place his hand on Dick's shoulder, squeezing it slightly. "Good. I thought something was wrong." Bruce smiled then and turned to leave. Before entering the house again, he paused to add, "Don't stay out too late. I worry."

Mouth open, Dick couldn't seem to respond. He just barely managed to nod before the man disappeared into the building. Swallowing with some difficulty, Dick turned back around to face the backyard. He hadn't been expecting that. The man had had a beautiful woman with him and had taken the time out to check on him. So, maybe Dick did have a reason to stay. He wouldn't want to worry Bruce.

There was also the fact that Bruce was still hiding something from him since he'd been mistaken about what the secret had been. He badly wanted to know what it was and admittedly, he wanted to see if he could find it out before that doctor did.

o.o.o.o

End ficlet

A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!  
Story Note: Yeah, so maybe 'he wants to screw me' isn't the first thought that normally would come to someone's mind, but still. w/e. It's just a story and honestly, this is not how I think I'd normally write this pairing if I'd had more time.


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